A Big Year Ahead: Dates to Know

Carla Arsaga -

In addition to the historic makeover of the FAFSA, other major regulatory and operational changes will affect financial aid administrators this year. Final rules, data security, the debt relief court case and the end of COVID-19 emergency waivers have all created a full calendar for financial aid teams.

These are just some of the important dates for financial aid calendars in the next few months.

Now–Fall: FSA will release ongoing policy guidance for the new FAFSA.

April 10: The COVID-19 national emergency ended about a month sooner than expected. Higher education pandemic waivers have affected everything from verification to special funding and reporting. At this time, most waivers are in effect but will end or phase out soon, probably sometime this summer or early fall. The Department of Education will provide guidance on waivers and flexibilities.

May 23: Comments, questions and feedback on the initial draft for the new FAFSA are due to the department. The docket ID number and link for comments can be found in the last paragraph here.

June 6–July 13: 1 p.m. – 2 p.m. ET. Overview and Timeline. The first of 10 FSA live webinars takes place for training on implementation of the new 2024-2025 FAFSA. Topics, the link to join each session and how to add calendar invitations can be found here.

All webinars are scheduled to start at 1 p.m. ET.

  • June 8: Protecting Federal Tax Information
  • June 13: ISIR vs. ISIR
  • June 15: Professional Judgment, Dependency Status and Verification
  • June 20: Q&A, Session 1
  • June 22: Student Aid Index Part I
  • June 27: Student Aid Index Part II
  • July 6: Pell Grant Minimums, Maximums and In Between
  • July 11: FAA’s Role in FAFSA Simplification
  • July 13: Q&A, Session 2

June 9: Changes under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act become effective. Colleges and universities will have to update their data security systems to meet the new requirements. Our blog has more details on protecting student data.

June 30: The deadline to expend all HEERF funds is June 30, 2023.

June 29-July 2: NASFAA’s in-person conference takes place in San Diego.

July 1: Final rules are effective for Institutional Eligibility for Prison Education Programs, 90/10, Change in Ownership, and Student Loans and Affordability.

Some dates may change.